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A few weeks ago I was sent a free G-Technology Armor ATD 4TB external hard drive. Coincidentally, I’d also started my YouTube channel and wanted to utilize a powerful external hard drive to edit off of with Final Cut Pro. I had just purchased a LaCie Rugged external 5TB hard drive via Amazon that cost me in the range of $250 to $300. Then, a PR rep for GTech reached out to me and I was sent their very new and best. I thought it’d be a great comparison, and the 4TB Armor ATD Rugged prices between $150-200, so you get a lot of bang for your buck and could save quite a bit of cash compared to LaCie if the performance was comparable. I’ve been very impressed.
Let’s take a look at the G-Technology Armor ATD 4TB Rugged specs
- 3 layers of shock absoprtion to provide protection up to 1.2 m on a carpet, concrete covered floor ( on the 1TB and 2TB models )
- Internal Shock Mounts
- Durable aluminum enclosure
- Protective Rubber Bumper
- Rain, Dust, and Crush resistant
- Weather-resistant port
- 1000lb crush resistance rating
- Transfer Rates are very fast
- 140MB/s
- 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB ( my model )
- USB-C ready and USB-3.0 and Thunderbolt 3 compatible
- Includes both USB-C and USB-A connectors for universal compatibility with USB-C, USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3 computers
The Unboxing
I started using it on my iMac to Edit on Final Cut Pro
Currently, I’m using the provided USB-C to USB-C cable, plugged into my IMac Thunderbolt port and directly next to it, I have my LaCie 5TB also connected with USB-C cables. I’ve edited videos off of each drive and I honestly can’t tell a difference. To clarify, I’ve created Final Cut Pro libraries on each drive, then utilize the drives to create events and projects that pull and edit files directly from the external hard drives. This way, when I travel and use a Macbook Pro, my libraries, events, and projects will travel with me and I don’t compromise the hard drive of my iMac, etc. Both are pulling files very quickly, transferring at a high rate into, and have only created a couple of issues, but no more than I’ve experienced off the LaCie.
I’m very impressed.
Now, I’m primarily editing videos in the 5min to 15min range and using file sizes in the range of 50mb to 2 or 3GB. These aren’t hour long projects, but in the shorter videos I’ve put together…it’s been great.
Overall
I’ll be traveling in August and will most definitely be bringing this bad boy along. I’m excited to see how it works on a MacBook Pro as I shoot and download content for future YouTube posts, but thus far, and it’s only been a couple of weeks, it’s been a great performer and much more affordable than the LaCie. Comparing it to some cheaper back drives that I had purchased at Costco last year, it’s night and day. The drives from Costco consistently crashed Final Cut and created terrible rendering issues when trying to edit from them. Is it as fast and seamless as the LaCie? I don’t think it’s quite there, but it’s significantly cheaper, and I’m using the drive to edit video with multiple layers in it.
If you’re interested in purchasing an ATD Armor like mine ( 4TB ) you can do so at B&H Photo and Video via our affiliate link
It’s honestly a great product, and yes I did receive this one free of charge and was asked to do a review, but it’s something I’d use my own money to buy in the future.
1TB
2TB
4TB
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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